The "Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2025" directs the FTC to study and report on pharmaceutical supply chain intermediaries, merger activity, and anticompetitive behaviors, and to provide policy recommendations for increased transparency and competition.
Charles "Chuck" Grassley
Senator
IA
The "Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2025" directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate and report to Congress on the practices of pharmacy benefit managers and other intermediaries in the pharmaceutical supply chain, including their impact on drug prices and competition. The FTC is required to identify any legal or regulatory barriers hindering antitrust enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry and suggest improvements for transparency and competition. Additionally, the FTC must report on complaints of anticompetitive behavior by sole-source drug manufacturers and recommend policies to enhance enforcement.
FTC Ordered to Investigate Drug Middlemen and Pricing Practices Within One Year Under New Bill
This bill, the "Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2025," essentially tasks the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with digging into the complex world of how prescription drugs get priced and distributed. It requires the FTC to conduct a detailed study and report back to Congress within a year, focusing heavily on the role of intermediaries like Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) – the companies that manage prescription drug benefits for health plans.
Shining a Light on the Middlemen
The core of the bill directs the FTC to investigate several specific practices involving PBMs. Think of PBMs as negotiators between drug makers, pharmacies, and your health insurance. The study will look into whether PBMs are charging health plans more for a drug than they pay the pharmacy, potentially pocketing the difference. It also asks the FTC to examine if PBMs steer patients towards pharmacies they own, use confidential data from independent pharmacies to gain a competitive edge, or design their drug lists (formularies) in ways that favor more expensive drugs over cheaper alternatives. The goal here, as laid out in Section 3, is to understand if these practices are driving up costs or limiting competition.
Broader Market Check and Roadblocks
Beyond PBMs, the FTC's year-long study must also assess overall competition trends in the healthcare supply chain, particularly how mergers and acquisitions involving intermediaries, suppliers, or payers are changing the landscape. It requires looking into how companies weigh the pros and cons of using intermediaries and whether everyone involved, especially consumers, has enough information about these players. Section 3 also mandates the FTC identify any legal or regulatory hurdles that either prevent the agency from tackling anticompetitive behavior or directly contribute to higher drug prices.
Additionally, a separate report required under Section 4 focuses specifically on manufacturers of "sole-source drugs" – medications where there's only one producer. The FTC needs to report on complaints about anticompetitive actions by these manufacturers and suggest ways to strengthen enforcement. While this bill doesn't directly change drug prices today, it sets the stage for potential future action by demanding a thorough investigation and recommendations from the FTC within a tight timeframe (including an interim report in 180 days).